A very big and very public thank you

I received a phone call as I was wrapping up my day-before-the-holiday short shift here today. The voice on the other line was a bit shaky and the woman seemed nervous. She hoped she had reached the right person.

I received a phone call as I was wrapping up my day-before-the-holiday short shift here today.

The voice on the other line was a bit shaky and the woman seemed nervous.

She hoped she had reached the right person.

A few weeks ago her family had been blessed with a huge delivery of Christmas cheer from the students in the leadership class at Golden Valley High School, and I wrote an article about the donation.

"I just want to make sure they get the thanks and recognition they deserve," the mother said. She didn't want to give her name, because she wanted to protect the identity of her five children.

This holiday season was particularly tough for the family -- there were money problems and family problems, no need to list them here -- and the kindness of the students was a bit overwhelming.

"I was shocked," the mother said. "It just ended up being a really good Christmas for my children. Without that gift, we wouldn't have really had much of a Christmas."

The Golden Valley students worked hard before the holidays to make sure they had all the bases covered, from food to gifts to a lighted Christmas tree from the football team.

"I am just so thankful. It is really hectic. They are going to school and they have their own lives," mom said. "Yet they took all that time to go shopping in the crowds and picking out the gifts and wrapping them and everything else."